Early Spring? Local Groundhog Disagrees With Punxsutawney Phil

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LINCOLN (CBS/AP) – There’s a bit of controversy that could be brewing over when winter will end.

On Saturday, Pennsylvania’s famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his lair in front of thousands, and didn’t see his shadow.

Legend has it that if the furry rodent sees his shadow on Feb. 2 on Gobbler’s Knob in west-central Pennsylvania, winter will last six more weeks. But if he doesn’t see his shadow, spring will come early.

But in recent years, Phil has some competition in the rodent forecasting department. There’s Staten Island Chuck, in New York; General Beauregard Lee, in Atlanta; and Wiarton Willie, in Wiarton, Ontario, and here in Massachusetts, there’s Drumlin Farm’s local celebrity groundhog, Ms. G.

Contrary to Phil’s prediction, Ms. G did see her shadow, indicating six more weeks of winter.

Phil’s predictions have been known to miss in the past. Last year, for example, he told people to prepare for six more weeks of winter, a minority opinion among his groundhog brethren.

The Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University later listed that January to June as the warmest seven-month period since systematic records began being kept in 1895.